1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to home entertainment systems, and, more particularly, to an integrated home entertainment unit having an optical disk drive and a print engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
The availability of consumer electronic devices for home and family entertainment has increased markedly in recent years. For example, the wide acceptance of digital versatile disk (DVD) players in the consumer market has resulted in a proliferation of these devices, which are used as part of the consumers' home entertainment systems. The operative component of a DVD player is an optical disk drive that allows the information encoded onto a DVD disk to be viewed. DVD player/recorders also allow information to be recorded onto a DVD disk.
Another consumer item gaining in popularity is the digital camera. However, digital camera sales appear to be limited by customer acceptance. One obstacle cited by consumers is the difficulty in viewing, sharing, and printing the photos generated by a digital camera in a user-friendly environment. For example, in order to view, share, and print the photos, a personal computer with a printer is typically required. Photos are often “developed” for the consumer onto a compact disk (CD), which may be viewed using an optical disc drive, such as a computer's CD or DVD drive. The computer's monitor can be used to view and edit the photos, e.g., to crop the photo or to remove red-eye. By using the personal computer's CD and/or DVD drive, photos can be stored permanently, and consumers can share their photos, for example, by exchanging disks or printed hardcopies. However, a personal computer can be expensive to procure and cumbersome to operate. In addition, a dedicated printer used for printing photos can also be expensive. Further, a conventional personal computer with monitor and printer typically does not fit within the decor of the typical consumer living room home entertainment system.
What is needed in the art is an integrated home entertainment unit that allows viewing, sharing, and printing of photos.